In modern democracies, the vertical division of power among different levels of government is a major form of power-sharing, commonly referred to as federalism. This chapter explores the theory and practice of federalism, with a specific focus on India, its constitutional provisions, and the dynamics of local government.
Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. Usually, a federation has two levels of government, both enjoying power independent of the other.
The Constitution declares India as a Union of States. Although it does not use the word 'federation', the Indian Union is based on federal principles, originally providing a two-tier system of government (Union Government and State Governments), later expanded to a three-tier system with Panchayats and Municipalities.
Not all constituent units of the Indian Union have equal powers:
The power-sharing arrangement is basic to the structure of the Constitution. Any change requires a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament, followed by ratification by the legislatures of at least half of the total States. The Judiciary (High Courts and Supreme Court) plays a crucial role in resolving disputes regarding the division of powers.
The real success of federalism in India is attributed to the nature of democratic politics, which ensures respect for diversity and a shared desire for living together.
The creation of Linguistic States was the first major test for democratic politics. Boundaries of several old states were changed to ensure people speaking the same language lived in the same state. Some states were created based on culture, ethnicity, or geography (e.g., Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand).
The Indian Constitution does not give the status of national language to any single language. Hindi is identified as the official language, alongside 21 other Scheduled Languages. English continues to be used for official purposes to protect the interests of non-Hindi speaking states.
Restructuring Centre-State relations has strengthened federalism. Before 1990, the same party often ruled both at the Centre and in most States, undermining state autonomy. Post-1990, the rise of regional parties led to the era of Coalition Governments at the Centre, supported by a major Supreme Court judgment making it difficult for the Central Government to arbitrarily dismiss State Governments.
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called Decentralisation. The basic rationale is that local problems are best settled at the local level with direct public participation.
A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992 to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful: